gombeen
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of gombeen
1860–65; < Irish gaimbín interest, especially exorbitant interest, literally, bit, small piece, diminutive of gamba lump, hunk
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There was doubt on the faces of those tied to the gombeen man.
From What's the Matter with Ireland? by Russell, Ruth
One day he and his father shopped at the gombeen store together.
From What's the Matter with Ireland? by Russell, Ruth
Personal indebtedness became almost a thing of the past, and the gombeen man—one of Ireland's national curses—was fast fading out of sight.
From Ireland Since Parnell by Sheehan, D. D. (Daniel Desmond)
But the gombeen man wasn't "taking it lying down."
From What's the Matter with Ireland? by Russell, Ruth
The arts as well as the crafts, the graces equally with the utilities must stand up in the marketplace and be judged by the gombeen men.
From The Crock of Gold by Stephens, James
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
